


Birthday Blues

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crying, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29502813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: In the wake of the Fall of Beacon, even thinking about her birthday seems ridiculous.
Relationships: Ruby Rose & Nora Valkyrie, Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 32





	Birthday Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Credit to stardoesnthaveaname for the idea of Ruby taking a day off with Weiss and Nora.

Growing up, Ruby would always get extremely excited for her birthday. After all, her birthday was on Halloween. That would make any kid excited, let alone one with a massive sweet tooth, like Ruby. Every year she would look forwards to dressing up and going trick or treating on her birthday, and then coming home and trading candy with Yang late into the night while they watched scary movies (after their dad went to sleep and couldn't scold them, of course). With everyone on Patch celebrating the holiday, it felt like the whole neighborhood was celebrating her birthday.

And of course, Ruby wasn't above leveraging her birthday girl status in exchange for some extra candy.

Her first year at Beacon, Ruby's teammates threw a special surprise party for her with lots of cookies and candy. Ruby treasured spending the evening with her friends, watching her favorite horror movies and eating sweets until her stomach hurt. Really, she couldn't ask for a better team.

Of course, her passion for birthdays wasn't just for her own special day. She prided herself in her ability to weasel out the dates of her friends' birthdays and plan celebrations for them as well—even at the last minute. Ruby's lucky to have so many friends these days.

But, in the wake of the Fall of Beacon, even thinking about her birthday seems ridiculous. After losing Penny and Pyrrha, her school, the rest of her team, and Yang losing her arm, frivolous things like birthdays just seem like a waste of time. In the face of everything they've lost, and everything they need to do, there's no time for being selfish.

When she leaves to travel to Haven Academy, she quickly loses track of time during their months spent on the road. Sure, she has a rough idea of how many weeks they've been walking through Anima, but she couldn't tell you what day of the week it is, let alone the date. And for all their antics on the road, the others never broach the subject of birthdays either, so she assumes that they must feel the same way she does.

It's a small sacrifice, really, in the face of how much some of their friends have suffered.

Arriving in Atlas is a massive relief—after they manage to clear things up with Ironwood, of course. It's a nice change to have a consistent place to stay after moving around so much. Although they can't afford to let themselves relax too much, what with the threat of Salem on the horizon, it's a chance to catch up on some much-needed rest.

Ruby does find herself frustrated their first week in the city while their weapons are being upgraded, as it leaves her with a lot of downtime when she could be training. Of course, the other girls insist that it's actually good for her to take a break, and they insist on dragging her out into the city for shopping trips and makeovers and spa days. So Ruby isn't even remotely surprised when Weiss and Nora approach her before she's even finished eating her breakfast, insisting that she needs to come with them and check out the mall they found.

"It has an aquarium on the top floor!" Nora announces, bouncing where she stands and almost managing to knock over two chairs and the table that Ruby is sitting at.

"Okay, okay, just let me finish eating and we can go," Ruby replies. Over the course of their last few excursions, she's learned that it's easier if she just goes along with the other girls' antics. Plus, a mall with an aquarium does sound pretty cool.

The mall in question follows the design plan of most Atlas buildings. It's a towering structure composed of glass and steel, shining proudly in the morning light. Although Ruby is more interested in weapons than architecture, the two fields do have their similarities, and she finds herself admiring the smooth lines of the building before Weiss and Nora drag her inside.

They of course immediately head for the top floor, eager to scout out the aquarium. Ruby allows herself to be tugged along by Weiss and Nora from place to place. She's resigned herself to just enjoying the enforced time off while it lasts. In return, the other girls allow her to stay at the weapons display for as long as she wants.

"I don't think this technically counts as relaxing," Weiss mutters to Nora.

The redhead shrugs. "Well, it's got her distracted, doesn't it?" she points out under her breath. "And that's really what counts here."

They eat lunch at one of the overpriced cafes in the atrium—Nora jokingly thanks General Ironwood for treating them—before heading back to the dorms discussing plans for that afternoon. Nora is insisting that they should take advantage of the big TVs in the dorm's lounge areas and have a movie night. They're still discussing the idea when Ruby opens the door to the lounge they need to pass through to get back to their room.

"Surprise!" Ruby blinks at the shout that comes as soon as she steps inside. She turns on the lights to see the rest of their teams, along with Qrow, Maria, Penny, and Dr. Pietro standing inside. The room has been decorated with balloons and streamers and a banner reading "Happy Sweet 16 Ruby!"

Yang steps forward. "I know it isn't your actual birthday," she admits sheepishly. "But we all felt bad for missing your birthday, and we could all use a celebration, so happy sweet sixteen, sis!"

"We sent Nora and Weiss to keep you distracted, while the rest of us got everything set up," Blake explains, smiling at her proudly. "So, do you like it?"

To her surprise, Ruby bursts into tears.

"Ruby!" Yang sounds panicked. "What's wrong?"

Ruby shakes her head, swiping furiously at her eyes and frantically trying to compose herself. "Nothing," she insists, with a watery chuckle. "I'm just—so happy. Thank you, all of you."

"Now that's more like it!" Nora cheers.

"So, sis, you ready to stay up all night watching movies?"

Ruby beams at her sister, wiping the rest of the tears from her face. "I would love to."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.
> 
> The mall with the aquarium in this fic is inspired to the mall I went to while I was in Dubai. I kind of feel like Atlas is the Dubai of Remnant and would definitely have something like that.
> 
> Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it.


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